What do people think is the best treatment for anxiety?

Here at Portland Psychotherapy, we spend a lot of time researching the most effective treatments for problems in living. Too often, though, there’s a disconnect between what the research says works and what is often used in practice. Not only is it difficult to educate the public but even mental health professionals can have difficulty keeping up.

For these reasons, I read this CureTogether post (now associated with 23andme.com) with great interest. CureTogether is a website that collects ratings of treatments. It appears to have an ongoing survey of anxiety treatments. Anyone can log in and rate what worked and didn’t work for them. May 13, 2013, the website posted the results from over 10,900 people who had participated in their survey of anxiety treatments.

What do people think works?

I’ll confess: because there’s so much misinformation out there, I was a little worried about what I’d find. I honestly expected to find evidence-practice lagging behind pop psychology. When I saw the actual rankings, however, I thought to myself, “Not bad.”

Cognitive behavior therapy (CBT)—which arguably has the most impressive research base for addressing anxiety disorders—was number 6. Given that CBT is not as “sexy” as other treatments, I was pleasantly surprised to see it in the top 10. Even Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), the specific branch of CBT offered at Portland Psychotherapy, was number 11. (This is amazing, actually, as ACT is still new to many professionals.) Even exposure therapy, which has the greatest research support but is especially unsexy, was listed at number 14.

More informal treatments such as exercise (#1), yoga (#3), and meditation (#5) also have some research support for being helpful to people. Not everyone needs to see a therapist for anxiety.

What was more concerning—although not surprising—was the prominence of a class of drugs collectively known as benzodiazepines. These include Xanax (#2), Ativan (#8), and Clonazepam (#9). I say “not surprising” because these are commonly prescribed drugs that calm you down within 20-30 minutes. I say “concerning” because, although they make people feel better in the short-term, benzodiazepines can actually maintain anxiety in the long-term: they are a short-term solution, can be addictive, and can lead to withdrawal effects with prolonged use and rebound anxiety when people stop taking it. Xanax, which is faster acting, is particularly dangerous.

What conclusions can we draw?

I should note that this isn’t an objective research study: it’s simply a summary of what people who filled out an online survey say they’ve tried and decided was helpful. That said, it’s an extremely useful snapshot of the real world treatment of anxiety.

What Makes Us Unique

Portland Psychotherapy is a clinic, research & training center with a unique business model that funds scientific research. This results in a team of therapists who are exceptionally well-trained and knowledgeable about their areas of specialty.

Our research lab has dedicated research funding, space, equipment, and staff. We also host postdoctoral fellowships, mentor volunteer research assistants, and provide ongoing training to professionals working in the community.